Press Releases

Following months of strategic planning between the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Thompson Health, leaders from both organizations today signed an official agreement making Canandaigua’s Thompson Health an affiliate of URMC.

The affiliation comes after several months of discussions, due diligence and board approvals involving administrative leaders, physicians and board members among the two health systems. “This affiliation between Thompson Health and the University of Rochester Medical Center offers a great opportunity to bring a truly integrated delivery system to the Finger Lakes Region,” Linda Farchione, President/CEO of Thompson Health, said. “It will allow for coordinated service delivery of all levels of healthcare close to home.”

“Thompson Health is unquestionably one of the most progressive, well-run and medically robust health systems in our region, so it is a natural fit with the URMC’s family of providers,” said URMC CEO Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D. “Working together, we have enormous potential to improve the health of our region.”

Berk and Farchione agree that the affiliation enables the two health systems to use and share their collective resources to best meet the healthcare needs of both the Rochester and Finger Lakes regions. Berk said that by partnering, a seamless network of healthcare delivery will be created, allowing patients to access many different levels of care at a variety of locations. Both view the affiliation as an extension of successful partnerships that already exist between the two health systems within many medical and surgical specialties, including cardiology, neurosurgery, oncology, imaging and more.

“Healthcare is evolving rapidly, and that has enormous implications for the way in which we deliver care, train new teams of professionals and search for cures,” said University President Joel Seligman. “Together, URMC and Thompson Health bring the critical mass and collective talent to re-imagine a more robust, affordable and higher-quality healthcare system.”

Another community benefit of this collaboration will be that hundreds of Ontario County residents who are admitted to Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital each year will be able to receive the healthcare they need much closer to home at Thompson. This not only benefits Ontario County patients, but also frees up specialty and sub-specialty care beds for patients throughout upstate New York only available at Strong Memorial.

? Thompson Health will continue to operate under the guidance and leadership of its existing board of directors comprising members of the local community. Thompson will add new representatives from URMC to the existing board. URMC will also appoint representatives from Thompson Health to its existing board of

directors.

? The Thompson Health parent corporation will retain its own local president/CEO.

Linda Farchione will continue to serve as the president/CEO of Thompson Health until her retirement later this summer. On July 1, 2012, Michael Stapleton, Thompson’s current executive vice president/chief operating officer, will assume the role of president/CEO.

“It’s really about maximizing the strengths of each institution and preserving what they do best,” Berk said. “Together, we will seek a balance between local autonomy and a strategically coordinated approach that’s essential within an integrated health system.”

Farchione added, “We are all committed to ensuring that Thompson Health and the University of Rochester Medical Center are here to continue to provide clinical excellence and service excellence from highly skilled healthcare professionals who have a genuine passion for caring for others in new and innovative ways for years to come.”